So, who didn't see this coming? XM and Sirius to merge.

  • Thread starter Tornado
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Tornado

Tornado

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rivals XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio announced Monday they would enter into a merger of equals, creating a satellite radio giant.XM (Charts) and Sirius (Charts) said they would each own half of the combined company, which would offer listeners a much wider variety of programming, including sports, news and high-profile entertainers such as shock jock Howard Stern.
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Linky.
I still doubt they will make any money, but hey! Why not?
 
Am I the only one who thinks XM is a Citroen from the '90s and Sirius is a drink made by Strongbow? Oh wait, that's sirrus...

Are these 2 the largest satelite radio companies who have been wanting to take over eachother for a while? Like how NTL took over Telewest here in the UK (cable TV and internet, though).
 
Toronado
Linky.
I still doubt they will make any money, but hey! Why not?
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I'm not so sure about that. Now that they are combined and the receivers and memberships are relatively inexpensive, satellite radio is ripe for strong growth potential. Also, as a combined company they will be able to eliminate a great deal of their SG&A, marketing, and R&D costs which are currently crippling both companies.

A lot will depend on how smoothly the merger goes, and how well they trim the fat. I'm not investing in it now, but its certainly on my watch list.
 
I dunno. The new competitor in the form of HD Radio seems like a winner to me, if only based on the mentality that it will cost less in the long run. To me that sounds like what will appeal to the public more.
Sure, I agree that many of the expenses will be taken care of, so their may be more profit. However, I can't see this making much of a difference in the user base being added, other than the obvious benefit of combining the two sets of subscribers.
 
I see this as a boon for those split between choosing from XM and Sirius; many of my customers aren't thrilled that we cut back (for the past year) to XM, as some people like the choices at Sirius better. People really like the satellite radio offerings better since there's no ads, many more choices, and for those who go on long trips, they don't have to fiddle around to find what they like. It's only $10-15/month, I believe.

HD radio is going to be the same thing as analog radio broadcasting, but with better quality. There's still more censorship than satellite radio, since the FCC has their say, not to mention the general uniformity of free radio isn't going to change much. However, HD radio will still have a much more "community" felling than national radio could ever hope for.

Satellite radio (whatever it's going be called) can focus on the reasons the extra price is worth it, and it seems to be a hit in this market, even outside my dealership.
 

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